As Toulouse-Lautrec became more confident with his brush, he also became more confident within the social networks of bohemian Paris. He began to frequent theaters and dance halls like the Folies Bergères and the Moulin de la Galette, where he met artists, poets, and others attracted by the city's nightlife. These venues also offered professional opportunities, as cabaret owners often commissioned their artist patrons to design posters to advertise their events and productions. Places of entertainment are the subject of many of the most arresting images designed by Toulouse-Lautrec during the 1890s. Performance and spectatorship are recurring themes in these works, underlining the importance of both seeing and being seen in the social drama of urban life.
